Is the Indonesian government preventing Emirates from flying the Airbus A380 to Bali to further its aviation agenda? One report suggests so, but I’m a little suspicious (thanks to Lee for flagging this)…
In this post:
Indonesia makes demands for Emirates A380 flights?
Since June 2023, Emirates has been flying the Airbus A380 to Bali’s Denpasar International Airport (DPS). This is of course the biggest passenger aircraft in the world, and the Dubai-based carrier is also the only airline to fly the super jumbo to the airport.
However, in January 2026, A380 service to the airport abruptly stopped, as all flights are now being operated by the Boeing 777 (which is still big, but significantly lower capacity). Okay, you’d assume that this is just a seasonal downgrade to reflect demand, but this is where things get interesting.
Indonesia’s Director General of Civil Aviation, Lukman Laisa, reportedly recently spoke at the Indonesian Aviation Association, and addressed this downgrade, given the amount of attention it received. As he explained:
“I have only requested three things from Emirates, namely an MRO involvement in Indonesia, more Indonesian crew, and more Indonesian destinations other than just Jakarta and Bali.”
“Qatar employs 90 Indonesian pilots, Etihad 40 Indonesian pilots –- this is not to mention the number of cabin crew these airlines employ. There are only six pilots at Emirates. They only want to give us one Indonesian crew, while we are asking for three crew members because of the use of the Airbus A380.”
“So, because of this lack of Indonesian manpower, I am withholding requests for three Airbus A380 aircraft to Bali. Additionally, permission to use Airbus A380 aircraft in Bali I am still keeping on ‘hold.’ We desire progress in our negotiations with Emirates, advising them that we have qualified workers available for the Jakarta-Dubai air service.”
Yowzers, that’s kind of wild, though it also wouldn’t be the first time that a government tried to use leverage to make an airline take certain action:
- Indonesia has “only requested” three things, including an MRO? For those not familiar, “MRO” refers to a maintenance facility, so it’s not entirely clear why Emirates should set up a facility abroad, when it handles most of its work in the UAE, as that’s a massive ask?
- Okay, it’s great to want to encourage Emirates to hire more Indonesian pilots, but this guy doesn’t seem to understand that pilots don’t work specific routes, so it’s not like the Dubai to Bali route would always be worked by Indonesians, etc.
- If a country wants an airline to expand service to more destinations, maybe the best strategy is to make it easy to work with the country and show how pro-foreign airline they are, rather than trying to block them?
- Countries want more tourists, and Indonesia is shooting itself in the foot if it’s limiting capacity to the country
Is there more to this story, because this is strange?
There are certainly some countries that I could see playing hardball with an airline in this way, but I’m a bit surprised to see this from Indonesia. So I wondered if this was really the case, or if there was more to the story. Well, in recent days, Communication and Legal Division Head of Denpasar International Airport, reportedly said the following:
But is there another side to the story? Denpasar Airport’s Communication and Legal Division Head, Gede Eka Sandi Asmadi, reportedly had another explanation:
“It can be conveyed that currently Emirates airline is replacing the Airbus A380 aircraft type with a Boeing 777 to serve the Dubai – Denpasar route. The service is seeing a downgrade in capacity due to the low season and a drop in demand for the route.”
“Regarding the reasons or timeframe for temporarily changing the aircraft type, this is entirely at the discretion of the airline and can be confirmed directly with the airline.”
So that suggests this was just a standard seasonal downgrade, which to me seems like the more reasonable explanation. Now, I don’t know what’s actually going on here, because you have one government official saying one thing, another government official saying another thing, and Emirates not commenting.
Either way, it’ll be interesting to see if/when the A380 returns to Bali, because this is all quite unusual.
Bottom line
Emirates recently stopped flying the Airbus A380 to Bali. The carrier started flying the A380 there in 2023, and it’s the only operator to fly the super jumbo to Indonesia’s popular island paradise.
You wouldn’t think much of this, except Indonesia’s top aviation official claims that Indonesia is barring Emirates A380 service as a bargaining technique. The country wants Emirates to set up MRO facilities in Indonesia, hire more Indonesian pilots, and fly to more destinations in Indonesia.
What makes this odd is that an airport official claims that Emirates has simply seasonally downgraded its route, so it’s anyone’s guess what’s actually going on here…
What do you make of this Emirates A380 Bali saga?
This looks fishy not because of the Indonesian government, but because of the pressure from other airlines unable to fill their own planes to capacity because of passengers preference to experience the A380, hence ditching other aircrafts. And only Emirates can fill an A380 to capacity on this route.
I want Emirates statement on this issue rather than speculating. My knowledge of SE Asia suggests most maintenance is handled in Malaysia, not sure if there is a need for expansion?
I don’t know why you’d be surprised by Indonesia being a country that would do stuff like this? They have very protectionist policies in many sectors, including bans on raw material exports, and local content requirements. I’d say this is very on-brand,
They could add Medan, or Surabaya. The pilot number seems low, of course they could be rostered globally (not sure how easy it is to get them crew visa to most destinations) but also why not have crew rostered predominantly on Indonesia/Malaysia flights when they speak Bahasa and can interact with local passengers in their native tongue.
Great use of “Yowzers,” Ben. It’s like an enhanced “wowza”… I’d’ve added an ‘oof’ and a ‘bah’ but I think you got the job done.
As for Indonesia, yeah, I get trying to support your own people, but, also, isn’t this self-defeating, as airlines bringing more tourists is good for the local economy, too. Other airports? Which? Labuan Bajo can barely receive ATR72s. C’mon. DPS, CGK are it.
I mean, it’s not like Garuda’s...
Great use of “Yowzers,” Ben. It’s like an enhanced “wowza”… I’d’ve added an ‘oof’ and a ‘bah’ but I think you got the job done.
As for Indonesia, yeah, I get trying to support your own people, but, also, isn’t this self-defeating, as airlines bringing more tourists is good for the local economy, too. Other airports? Which? Labuan Bajo can barely receive ATR72s. C’mon. DPS, CGK are it.
I mean, it’s not like Garuda’s gonna start flying nonstop to the US, are they? Talk about a 20 hour flight…
An interesting predicament Ben, I will seek the advice from some of my local friends who might have an alternative view to share.
Occasional VFTW commenter 'Jack the ladd' usually has a 'hot take' on Indonesia, but I don't think he frequents OMAAT, regrettably.
January is low-season in Bali (rains, usually, south of equator that time of year, as I am sure you know already). Would be interesting if this 'embargo' of the a380 lasts into the peak-season.
Lower capacity to Bali is not a bad thing (selfishly)
Don't give Nigeria any ideas... this is exactly the sort of nonsense that they're all about.
Oh no... my vacation to Lagos is ruined... how will I get my delicious jollof now... *sigh*
Indonesia is on track to be in the top 10 if not the top 5 world economies by 2050. It's previous president strong-armed the world's nickel sector (which accounts for a big chunk of revenue of the country) into forbidding the export of non-refined ore, forcing the mining companies to invest heavily in the country. They will not be afraid of Emirates.
I think this is a brilliant move saying : "Either you employ local...
Indonesia is on track to be in the top 10 if not the top 5 world economies by 2050. It's previous president strong-armed the world's nickel sector (which accounts for a big chunk of revenue of the country) into forbidding the export of non-refined ore, forcing the mining companies to invest heavily in the country. They will not be afraid of Emirates.
I think this is a brilliant move saying : "Either you employ local staff, or we don't give you more access". And given the geopolitical position of UAE at the moment, I think the timing is right for such demands.
It’s blackmail, as simple as that. On the contrary, Emirates will not really be afraid of them, especially when the country is essentially blackmailing them into hiring local pilots. Look at Indonesia’s safety record and that of their pilots, vs pilots from UK, US, EU, Canada, Australia etc…there is a reason why expat pilots of certain countries are favoured, and it boils down to statistics and safety standards. Plain and simple.
Not sure genius is the word I'd use. If you have to strongarm an airline like Emirates into hiring more of your nationality it kind of implies they're not very strong performers in the first place.
I didn’t know it was because civil aviation authorities played a hand. People said it was just because of low demand, and service will be reinstated in time for Northern Summer. This… isn’t at all surprising, though
Indonesia is practically thug country. You go there, you want to do business and benefit the local economy, but a bunch of thugs demand you pay tribute just because you’re on their turf. Best Emirates take their A380...
I didn’t know it was because civil aviation authorities played a hand. People said it was just because of low demand, and service will be reinstated in time for Northern Summer. This… isn’t at all surprising, though
Indonesia is practically thug country. You go there, you want to do business and benefit the local economy, but a bunch of thugs demand you pay tribute just because you’re on their turf. Best Emirates take their A380 and all the passengers that come with it to other destinations
Clearly you have not dealt with the Indo DGCA - thus absolutely happened. It is not the first, certainly won’t be the last. Ask Virgin Australia, HKExpress, SIA Group and China Airlines.